When to Plant Monarda in Zone 12a

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Zone 12a can be looked at to figure out when it's possible to plant monarda.

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Planting Calendar for Monarda

Frost tolerance for monarda: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Monarda do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant monarda
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant monarda
Probably not a good time to plant monarda

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Zone 12a is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant monarda and expect a good harvest is probably November. Any later than that and your monarda may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your monarda indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 12a it never frosts. It might get as low as 50°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Zone 12a is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12a you do not have to be ready to cover your monarda if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)Never
Lowest Expected Low50°F
Highest Expected Low55°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 55°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 12a.